A WOMAN who was born with a missing right hand after her mother was given a controversial drug for morning sickness is due to protest on the doorstep of the UK's medicines watchdog today (Friday, August 2).

Vicki Crallan, 37, from Thornaby, will be flanked by her partner, Gavin Willey, and her sons Harley, six and Morgan, 14, as she unfurls a banner calling for tighter regulations of medicines outside the headquarters of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in London.

A victim of the morning sickness drug Debendox, which was voluntarily withdrawn in 1983, she will join demonstrators from the Fetal Anti-Convulsant Trust (FACT), which is campaigning to raise awareness of the links between anti-convulsant drugs given to pregnant women with epilepsy and birth defects.

Miss Crallen will also be joined by her mother, Jennifer.

She told The Northern Echo she wanted to show her support for campaigners who are trying to ensure that the mistakes of the past, such as the hugely damaging Thalidomide scandal, are not repeated in the future.

"People need to know the system isn't protecting them. We are the forgotten victims of Debendox and we have never had any recognition or support," Miss Crallan said.

In 2010 FACT said more than 21,500 women aged between 20 and 39 were taking anti-epileptic drugs containing sodium volproate.

FACT said about ten per cent of children exposed to sodium valproate in the womb will have a major congenital malformation and 12 per cent are likely to be diagnosed with a neurological disorder such as autism.

Emma Friedmann, from FACT, said they were calling on the MHRA to bring its prescribing advice to GPs in line with national guidelines which now states that some anti-convulsant drugs should not be given to pregnant women as a first choice.

Dr June Raine, the MHRA's director of risk management, said: "The safety of medicines in pregnancy is a key priority for us.

"No medicine is completely free from side effects, and the use of any medicine in pregnancy requires a careful clinical evaluation of the benefits and risks to the woman and to her unborn child.

"When considering these, it's important to remember that untreated epilepsy carries serious risk for the mother and to her unborn child.

"Any decision to take a medicine in pregnancy should be made on the basis of the best available information and advice. We have regularly updated the information for patients and healthcare professionals about the safety of these medicines in pregnancy."